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Monday, May 2, 2011

Whenever I see shipping containers, my inner architect kicks into high gear andI start planning and designing homes and cottages in my head.

Anyone else do this? Hmm. I thought not. Well anyway I'm a bit obsessed with them. I think it would be such a fun challenge to create a functional yet beautiful cottage or home from discarded shipping containers. Each shipping container costs about $3000 (delivery included, although prices vary) so they really would make an inexpensive structure. Not only are shipping containers an economic housing material, but they also work well in places that are prone to extreme weather conditions and problems with termites and insect infestations.

Shipping containers are 8 feet wide and come in a variety of lengths (from about 20 to 40 foot lengths) so they can be arranged in many different ways to make a workable home.

Although I can appreciate the concept of houses like the one in the photo above - and when you start researching shipping container homes there are many unique ones like this - I would never feel comfortable living in such a modern cottage or house. I like a peaked rather than a flat roof, siding on the outside of the building, and a little coziness. So I set out to see if I could find some inspiring container homes/cottages that fit those requirements.

I found some great examples and even got out the old drawing board (well Paint program anyway) to come up with some basic sketches to illustrate how the shipping containers are arranged. Let's have a look at the six different arrangements I found:

The home below is 24 x 40 and consists of three shipping containers placed side-by-side. The plan calls for the metal walls to be removed where the shipping containers touch each other, adding new interior walls, as well as siding on the outside, and a peaked roof.

The floor plan for this house has three bedrooms - two are 8 x 12 feet and the master bedroom is 12 x 16 while the central living area is 16 x 24. I really like the simplicity of this arrangement.

The cabin in the photo below is also made using three containers placed side-by-side. The man who is building this cabin wants to make a very secure cabin so that it won't be vandalized when they aren't there. They didn't want to cut any windows or doors in the sides of the building and are only going to use the ends where the shipping containers open for doors and windows. That way when they are finished visiting the cabin, they simply close the original shipping container metal doors and the cabin is secure. You can read more details here. (UPDATE: You can read more about this cabin and see some photos of the interior here).

I also found some other great designs using the side-by-side arrangement of shipping containers through IDS Products.

2) Staggered Arrangement - An alternate version of the adjoining arrangement would be the staggered plan, whereby the home is made of three shipping containers, but one or more of the containers is staggered to form a more interesting arrangement.

In the home pictured below, they used the staggered arrangement to allow for a screened porch and because they extended the roof, a covered carport.

They plan to paint the exterior a unified colour, but are not going to add siding. The interior is still being constructed, but I love some of the details they have used and how cozy the kitchen is. This is definitely a home I'm going to keep my eye on to see how it looks when it is finished.

3) Bridge Arrangement - In the bridge plan two shipping containers are placed parallel to each other and are used as solid exterior side walls. A roof is built over top from one container to the other forming an interior space. I couldn't find an example of this arrangement with a peaked roof, but I thought it was a clever design so I'm including it.

In the home pictured below you can see the shipping containers on either side with the shed roof linking the two together and creating the interior living space.

4) Random Arrangement - The home in the picture below was built by a couple living in Quebec and is made using seven shipping containers - some stacked, some side-by-side, and some placed at different angles. They have covered the containers with insulation and siding, but left the corrugated metal visible on the inside of their home.

The couple who built this home were so pleased with the reduced costs, the speed of construction, and the positive effect on the environment from using shipping containers that they have started their own company building modular homes from used shipping containers. You can see their designs, mostly of the bridge arrangement (see #4) here at Maison Idekit.

5) Stacked Arrangement - This plan can have many variations depending on how many containers are used on each floor. In the following two houses they have used two up and two down. Unfortunately I was not able to find floor plans for either of these homes.

6) U Arrangement - I was not able to find a picture of a home using a "U" shaped arrangement of shipping containers, but I do think it is worth considering as the containers would form an area for a lovely courtyard or screened porch in the centre which is a welcome addition to a cottage. The exterior could be designed to have a traditional look.

I know your head is probably spinning from the variety of arrangements and you are just itching to Google how to find your own source of shipping containers so you can start building. I feel the same way. Aren't they amazing?

42 comments:

Amazing. I have seen some small homes made from shipping containers at an agricultural show. They were designed for placing on very large farms so staff have a place to stay on a large property. None of them were as stylish as any of these combinations.Now your inner architect and my inner granny should get together to create a great old home.

Wow, I never who have imagined thise houses. Thank you for that post, I enjoyed that.

Unrelated, but on topic, the is a farmer up by our cottage who has a creek running between his two main fields, requiring a bridge if he wishes to move his cows from one field to the other and back to the barn. Clever fella, he got a shipping container and laid it over the creek like a bridge, then opened the doors on both ends. He can open and close the gate and can control his cows. Not a pretty rural picture, but effective.

I like you’re good feed back. These are collection a pretty rural, and effective. They were designed for placing on very large farms so staff have a place to stay on a large property. I really like the one from Modern House Magazine. I think that would make a cute little house. I love green design! Thanks share this good post. I like this most use full blog.

I discovered your web site via Google while looking for a related subject, lucky for me your web site came up, its a great website. I have bookmarked it in my Google bookmarks. You really are a phenomenal person with a brilliant mind!

Do anyone have any plans for a multi-destination shipping-container home?

What I mean is, using 1 or more 40' containers in various locations. For instance living on a mobile home park for one year, then moving the containers 20 miles away the following year and living there.

This website is awsome. I live in a country that is very very expensive to buy a house! only the rich can do that! I bought a piece of lance about 10 years ago and now with this solution i can just ship them to my country...and have a 4 40foot container house made here in the US and ship it to my country! do you guys think its possible???

so you have a great thing i my self think that it costs to much and to much red tape i however i am going to south east asia were it a little easyer to do it there all the best ill be looking for you over there d from canada

This constantly amazes me just how blog owners such as your self can find the time as well as the dedication to keep on crafting superb blog posts. Your website is good and one of my personal must read weblogs. I just had to thank you. modular home plans

The most advantage about Shipping Container Homes is that they are quite cheap.than getting a home in the cheapest place of the city.you can absolutely make sure the exact thing you need in a architectural aspect it is easy and saves time in constructing it.

THis is fantastic and a great idea. We have thousands of these containers for sale here in Houston area and I am working on a practical DIY plan my self and found this blog and other to be a good source of information. Here is one guys blog that shows start to finish building and helpful pics and ideas. http://seacontainercabin.blogspot.com/

I am also interested in doing this too but am struggling to find out how to get land as I am sure there are zoning laws for containers being used for homes. Found couple of websites where you can buy these containers. Any info you can give will be appreciated. Thanks

Below is link for an example of of a bridge design with peaked roof --sort of ( :--).http://porhomme.com/2009/05/adam-kalkin-x-12-shipping-containers-adriance-house-in-maine/Google Images for "adam kalkin shipping container summer home maine" and you will find more fascinating photos. Adam has his own website with other shipping homes he has done at http://www.architectureandhygiene.com/main.html

its so amazing ,am so interested in do this in my country where housing cost a leg and a arm and most. this concept can house people and get them off the street. In Ghana west Africa housing is a big problem love this will do my best to companion this idea.

Hi, I'm Grace from Toronto, Canada. Welcome to Sense and Simplicity. This is my little corner of blogland where I like to talk about family, decorating, photography, food, and travel - all done with sense and simplicity.
Feel free to email me at aliasgracie@gmail.com